[May 22, 2014]
(Reuters) - Bank of America
Corp is dismantling an electronic market-making unit it
set up last year to serve its Merrill Lynch
wealth-management unit's clients, two people with
knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

Increased regulatory scrutiny of U.S. equity
markets and managers' concerns for the potential perception of a
conflict of interest killed the project, the media service
reported, citing people familiar with the situation who
requested anonymity.

The desk advanced to a testing phase before being abandoned in
recent weeks, these people said.

The two executives hired to run the desk, Jonathan Wang and
Steven Sadoff, were requested to seek new jobs within the firm.

One of the people said parts of the business Wang and Sadoff
created will be used by the bank's equities execution services
and client solutions teams.

The firm's existing automated market-making unit remains intact,
one of the people added.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. lender, acquired
Merrill Lynch in 2009.